Opinion: The government must change its approach if the new subsidy control system is to be a success The government has an opportunity to design a better system than the EU state aid regime it will replace, but its current approach risks missing the opportunity Photo: Alamy 01 Jun 2021 The subsidy control bill – announced in the Queen’s Speech and expected shortly – will be one of the first opportunities for the government to show a ‘Brexit dividend’ by designing a better system than EU state aid rules. It was an opportunity that UK negotiators fought hard for in Brexit talks last year, and the final deal allows the UK to design its own domestic system to regulate around £8bn of subsidies offered to businesses by governments and public bodies each year.